FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Wednesday evening the University of Saint Francis Cougars (4-2) played host to the No. 17 Indiana Tech University Warriors (5-1) in their season home opener at Hutzell Athletic Center and pulled out a thrilling victory winning 78-74.

After an 0-2 weekend at Shawnee State, the Cougars were anxious to rebound in front of their home crowd. And in the first half they looked poised to do just that.

As the game got underway, the Cougars took control jumping out to a 9-4 lead in the opening minutes. Freshman guard Branden Northern and freshman forward Joe Reidy stepped up big for the Cougars on both sides of the ball.

Though the Warriors did chip away at the deficit to close to within a couple of points, the Cougars stayed resilient and answered the call each time. Midway through the first half Saint Francis led 18-14.

Then consecutive three-pointers by Northern propelled the Cougars ahead by 10 points as they got their biggest lead of the game thus far. Then in the final minutes, the Cougars stayed strong maintaining their lead from the Warriors eventually extending their lead over Indiana Tech by 14 points.

The game went to halftime with the Cougars leading 43-29. During the first half, the Cougars were on fire from beyond the three-point line, going 7-for-10 from past the arc in the frame.

Heading into the second half though the Warriors came out strong and battled back to close the deficit to within six points in the opening minutes, but the Cougars remained determined to come out victorious.

As the second half reached its halfway mark, the Cougars held their eight-point lead, but the Warriors showed why they're nationally ranked as they continued to scratch and claw their way back, eventually closing the deficit to within three points on several occasions.

The next several minutes went back-and-forth with the Cougars maintaining their lead by the barest of margins. As the game entered the final two minutes, Saint Francis still had a two-point lead ahead 70-68.

Entering the final minute, the drama continued. The Cougars extended their lead back to four points, but a costly foul send the Warriors to the line for three shots with 14 seconds remaining. Two of the shots went in and the lead was back to two as the Cougars called their final timeout.

Then senior guard Dan McKeeman was fouled and made two clutch free throws to extend the lead back to four, and the Cougars held on from there earning their biggest win of the season thus far.

Throughout the game, the Cougars shot 47 percent from the floor, 46 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 89 percent from the free throw line. Graduate guard Antwaan Cushingberry led the team in scoring with 20 points and had a couple of blocks and six assists. Joe Reidy chipped in with 16 points and a team-leading six rebounds of his own.

The Cougars resume play on Saturday afternoon when they begin Crossroads League play at home hosting the Bethel University Pilots (5-1) beginning at 3:00 pm.

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.